Stay Healthy and Live Longer: Avoid Sugar and Sugary Foods

If you were to pick some simple changes you could make to your lifestyle that would lead to immediate health benefits, reducing the amount of sugar would be close to the top of the list.

The story of my son Samuel is a good case in point. He just turned 24 years of age, and like most young adults, enjoys great health and is rarely sick. Sam rarely eats sugars or sugary foods, but it wasn’t always like this. Just a few years ago, when he was a teenager, he was plagued with asthma and it seemed that every month or two he was coming down with some type of cold, sore throat or sinus infection.

Sam was a good kid, but like a lot of teens, he had a rebellious streak and wasn’t about to listen to his nutritionally-oriented physician dad who seems to be forever harping on him to quit eating so much sugar. He based his behavior on what he saw his friends doing and argued that he actually ate much less sugar than they did. He was probably right as sugar consumption is at an all-time high and currently averages 150 pounds per person annually in the United States. Nonetheless, for some reason, he decided to give my advice a try and drastically cut his sugar consumption. His asthma improved dramatically and it’s been years since the last time he got sick.

This came as no surprise to me because day in and day out I see health improvements in my patients after they reduce eating sugary foods. The leading causes of death and disability in the United States are heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. More than 50 percent of all deaths are due to heart disease and cancer alone. Many people avoid eating red meat and fatty foods to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke. They would be much better off by avoiding sugar and sugary foods. It is true that a low saturated fat diet can help reduce harmful LDL cholesterol levels. However, reducing sugary foods will reduce triglycerides (blood fats) and increase HDL, the beneficial, heart-protective form of cholesterol, which can be even more important in reducing heart attack and stroke risk.

Cancer cells can only eat one food – sugar. Thousands of cancer cells are formed in the body as a course of everyday living and when you eat sugary foods, you’re making sure these cancer cells have plenty to eat. A high sugar diet puts an extra strain on the pancreas to produce ever-increasing amounts of insulin. Eventually the pancreas wears out from the strain and is no longer able to produce enough insulin and diabetes results. High levels of insulin in the blood stream also lead to high blood pressure. The leading causes of death and disability in the United States are heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. You can reduce your risk of all of these simply by eating less sugary foods.

Two out of three Americans are overweight. Overeating and lack of exercise are mainly to blame, but just making one change to your diet – reducing the amount of sugary foods you eat – particularly when coupled with regular exercise, can help you lose weight very quickly.

Eating sugar is also mildly addictive and when you quit or drastically reduce the amount you eat, just like when ending any addictive behavior, withdrawal symptoms can occur. Fortunately, however, sugar withdrawal symptoms are relatively mild and only last a few days. Millions of people have ended their addiction to tobacco, which is far more difficult. Make reducing the amount of sugary foods you eat a priority and you’ll be able to do it.

Reduce your sugar consumption gradually and expect a few days of withdrawal symptoms – headaches, irritability, lower energy – but these won’t last very long and your health will be dramatically better as a result.

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